Sign letter and support therefor



Jan. 23, 1951 MITTEN 2,539,152

SIGN LETTER AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Filed Nov. 23, 1948 ATTORNEYS PatentedJan. 23, 1951 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFICE SIGN LETTER AND SUPPORTTHEREFOR Frank P. Mitten, Redlands, Calif.

Application November 23, 1948, Serial No. 61,581

2 Claims. 1

My invention relates to display signs or the like composed of letters orfigures which are removably and interchangeably supported upon a base toadvantageously mount them for display purposes.

An object of the invention is to provide as one element a groovedsupporting member or base and as another element characters or figuresof novel and attractive construction provided with case projectionsremovably and slidably engageable in the groove of the supporting memberin either vertical or rearwardly tilted positions to create anattractive advertising display medium.

The character or figure, such as letters of the alphabet used to spell aword or name when assembled in juxtaposition on the supporting memher,are formed with a bottom lug which fits the groove in said member and isoffset from the plane of the face of the letter to permit the bottom ofthe letter to rest on the base to give it a more firm support and hidethe lug thus creating the illusion that the letter is merely resting onthe support.

The characters or figures may be molded of plastic material as set forthin my co-pending application Serial No. 61,582, filed November 23, 1948,except that the mold cavity is formed with an extension portion in whichthe holding lug is formed integral with the character or figure in themolding thereof.

To these and other ends my invention comprises further improvements andadvantages as will be further described in the accompanyingspecification, the novel features thereof being set forth in theappended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of a sign character and its supportingmember or base embodying my invention, the character being mounted in avertical position.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation showing another embodiment of theinvention in which the character is supported in a rearwardly tilted orinclined position, and

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the parts as shown in Fig. 3.

In carrying out my invention as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, there isprovided an elongated supporting member or base if] formed of wood orother suitable material and of rectangular or other desired crosssection. In the top of this member there is a groove H extendinglengthwise thereof intermediate its front and rear edges l2 and I3.

The characters or figures l5 are molded of plastic material such as aypsum composition, or other suitable material which hardens on standing.Such characters are formed with walls of uniform thickness which aresmooth, provided with convex short radius corner edges at the front asindicated at I6, and a marginal recess I! at the rear corner edges toform a shallow central portion 58 of reduced thickness equidistantlylocated between the opposite side walls and narrower than the normalwall thickness of the body of the character. Recess ll avoids a sharpjagged or ragged edge and the formation of thin fin-like projections atsuch point, and also enhances the attractive appearance of the characterthereby producing a smooth uniform wall having both sides even andparallel.

In addition the character is formed with an elongated horizontal baseportion I9 at its bottom. This is a rectilinear lug in alinement withthe character vertically and rectangular in cross section but of reducedthickness and offset rearwardly from the front face 29 of the characteras indicated at 2|, thus forming an underlying shoulder 22 at the bottomof the character Hi. The rear face of the lug I9 is in the same plane asthe back face 23 of the character and in length corresponds to the widthof the character, as will be seen in Fig. 1, so that successivecharacters mounted in the groove of the base will be uniformly orproperly spaced when arranged to form a word or name. Also, portions I9are formed to fit the groove so as to firmly support the characters inupright positions with the shoulder overhang 22 at the front extendingover the top 14 of the base H1 sufficiently in front of the groove II toobscure from view the lug lying in the groove.

In forming the base extension or portion i9, it is molded with thecharacter, preferably in a rubber mold, so as to be integral therewith.The recess or cavity of the rubber mold is made with an extensioncorresponding to the size and shape of the base portion I9, but lessdeep, being shallower in depth by the difference between the thicknessof the character body l5 and the base portion 19 as defined by the depthof the shoulder 22. Thus the cavity extension of the mold is shallowerin depth at one end corresponding to the right angular formation formedby the shoulder 22, while also permitting easy removal of the characterand its base portion from the mold by distorting or stretching therubber material of the mold to enlarge the mold cavity to separate thecharacter therefrom.

In Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing a modification 3 is shown in which,while the character 15 and its lug l9 are the same, the supportingmember or base l0 is provided with a rearwardly inclined top surfacehaving a rearwardly inclined groove ll disposing its front and rearwalls as well as its bottom wall on a rearward incline so that when thebase extensions or lugs 19 of the letters or figures [5 are engagedtherein, they will lean or tilt backwardly throwing them intoperspective thereby producing an attractive display for use in suchplaces as on counters or in show cases where the advertising material isplaced below the normal line of vision.

I claim:

1. A sign comprising a supporting member having in the top thereof alongitudinal groove of uniform width throughout its length and depth,said member having a fiat top surface adjacent and at a right angle tothe front wall of the groove, one or more sign characters each having abody portion thicker than the width of said groove and a bottom lugportion thinner than said body portion, said lug portion removablyfitting in said groove, the rear face of said lug being in the sameplane as the back face of the body portion of said character and thefront face of said lug being offset rearwardly from the front face ofsaid body portion of said character, thereby allowing the front bottomportion of the sign character to overlap said fiat top surface of thesupporting member in front of the groove, thus hiding the lug portionand causing said character to appear to be resting upon said flat topsurface of the supporting member.

2. A sign character for use in making signs by mounting one or morecharacters in a supporting members of the type having inits top alongitudinal groove of uniform width throughout its length and depth andhaving a flat top surface adjacent and at a right angle to the frontwall of the groove, said sign character having a body portion thickerthan the width of said groove and a bottom lug portion thinner than saidbody portion, said lug portion being adapted to removably fit in saidgroove, the rear face of said lug being in the same plane as the backface of the body portion of said character and the front face of saidlug being offset rearwardly from the front face of said body portion ofsaid character, thereby allowing the front bottom portion of the signcharacter to overlap said fiat top surface of the supporting member infront of the groove, thus hiding the lug portion and causing saidcharacter to appear to be resting upon said flat top surface of thesupporting member.

FRANK P. MITTEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,912,852 Lobel June 6, 19332,024,893 Stringer Dec. 17, 1935 2,037,670 Wilson Apr. 14, 19362,135,859 Swanson Nov. 8, 1938 2,145,999 Weil Feb. '7, 1939 2,276,114Sture Mar. 10, 1942

